As Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google, and many other players all battle for control of the boxes and the content ecosystems that sit next to your television, there's an equally important fight to sell l you the device that sits next to your couch: the remote.

Telefónica has teamed up with Microsoft Corp. to develop what it calls its Global Video Platform (GVP) for the delivery of all IPTV and OTT video content to its 300 million-plus customers in Europe and Latin America.

This move is noteworthy for two reasons :

- First, Telefónica has historically had multiple video delivery systems, each dedicated to particular markets, media and customer types. Now it has started the move towards having a single, unified system that will deliver third-party content (OTT) as well as managed video (IPTV) to any type of device across any type of network.

- Second, it confirms Microsoft as the premium telco video delivery technology partner. Telefónica, one of the first major operators to launch commercial IPTV services, began with an in-house developed IPTV platform, which it then handed over for further development to Alcatel-Lucent. Now Microsoft is the preferred partner and that decision, along with Telefónica's video delivery strategy, will be noted by other major CSPs everywhere.

The deal allows Domino's to become the first pizza delivery company to also deliver streaming movies in Britain.

Domino's said customers ordering pizza from its web site will also be able to watch Lionsgate titles streamed via a PC or Mac, mobile phone and tablet on a rental basis.

Customers will order, receive a code, and be able to stream recent titles, such as The Hunger Games and What to Expect When You're Expecting, and library fare, such as Scream and Dirty Dancing, while eating the pizza of their choice. Prices per movie vary from £2.49 ($4) to £3.49 ($5.60).

Amazon is offering some users who don’t want to drop $79 on an annual Prime membership another option: Paying $7.99 a month. While that actually adds up to more money on a yearly basis ($95.88), it may bring new users into the fold — and it could help Amazon compete against Hulu+ and Netflix, both of which charge $7.99 a month for their streaming video plans.

Mobile messaging is rapidly becoming the new battle ground in Europe as over-the-top (OTT) providers develop products that are attracting millions of new users to their slick services, leaving operators floundering to catch up. The parallel with the future of TV industry is striking.

Traditional SMS text messaging, a cash-cow long overdue a revamp, is rapidly losing ground to upstarts such as WhatsApp, textPlus and others as smartphone users take advantage of these apps' capabilities and lower costs.

The adoption of OTT messaging is increasing, with 90 per cent of smartphone users in the Netherlands reportedly using WhatsApp. OTT messaging has forced some European operators to accept their fate, while others are taking the fight to the OTT community.

The news that corporate raider Carl Icahn is amassing shares in Netflix set off immediate speculation that the company is in play.. Technology News from the entertainment source: Variety. Netflix shares surge after Icahn investment.

Redbox and Verizon are moving closer to the launch of a new streaming service to compete with Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video, and other online video companies. Today, they announced that they signed up their first studio partner: Warner Bros., which as part of the deal also worked out a 28-day delay for availability of its DVD titles.

The Redbox Instant by Verizon joint venture was announced earlier this year, and is currently in internal beta testing, according to Redbox parent Coinstar. Redbox hasn’t yet announced pricing or availability for the service, but expects to launch it to the public by the end of the year. However, consumer response to the service will of course be driven mostly by content. That’s where Warner Bros. comes in.

Vizio has long been one of the bestselling TV brands in the US — the biggest brand in the country until April of this year when TV sales began to decline overall and Samsung took the lead... Interview with Vizio's CTO

A few weeks ago DirecTV bosses talked about merging with rival pay-TV operator Dish Network. Now Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen has said that the two companies should consider coming together in order to address a slowing pay-TV market.

Microsoft's Mediaroom platform was installed in 23% of deployed IPTV set-top boxes by the middle of 2012, despite an environment that is beginning to fragment with many small and regional players, according to US firm ABI Research

WebRTC is a new HTML5 standard framework that enables the transmission of multimedia and other data between browsers.

The emerging world of WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) took another step forward last week when Ericsson launched what it said is the world’s first WebRTC-enabled browser for mobile devices. Bowser, as the experimental browser is dubbed, is designed to enable developers to embed audio in video in web-based apps in ways that might otherwise be impossible. Developers can use Bowser to embed video that isn’t full-screen, for instance, or that floats around the screen – features that mobile browsers often don’t support – to create web-based apps that integrate video and voice.

Findings from independent survey research firm 451 Research’s ChangeWave service show that while Netflix leads among ‘paid alternative TV providers’, the Amazon Instant Video service is making big gains among consumers.

“While Netflix still holds the largest share by far of the paid alternative TV market, consumers continue to shift towards Amazon’s Instant Video service,” said Andy Golub of 451 Research’s ChangeWave service. “As Amazon’s TV and movie content becomes more competitive with Netflix, its popularity is surging among consumers.”

Services such as Netflix, Amazon and iTunes have proven the value of recommendation engines. Netflix alone has said that 75% of what users watch stems from a recommendation.

More content providers are aiming to tap into the value of video recommendations to entice viewers to watch more of their videos, which translates into additional ad inventory to sell. Online video technology provider Ooyala released awhite paper this month detailing best practices for content programmers in offering recommendations.

Viewers often first arrive at videos through organic search, social media, promotion or recommendation. But if a site relies on organic search, then it’s more likely to lose a viewer after the first video, Ooayala said. “Having their attention is only half of the challenge: you have to follow through with a suggestion that is likely to appeal specifically to them.”

Ian Mecklenburgh, Director of Consumer Platforms, Digital Entertainment at Virgin Mediar, discusses companion apps, the role of Red Button on TiVo and where platform operators fit into the second screen environment.

US disc and game rental operation Redbox, a wholly owned subsidiary of Coinstar and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment have signed a multi-year agreement to bring Warner Bros.’ Blu-ray Disc and DVD titles to Redbox kiosks 28 days after their retail release dates.

In addition, Redbox announced plans to join the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) and has agreed to promote UltraViolet through a programme of mutually agreed-upon promotions and marketing tactics designed to help retail customers discover UltraViolet.

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